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As Bush leaves office, there's a rush to issue last-minute regulations for the nation's executive agencies. As a result, we face the specter of starting 2009 with an ill-considered regulatory regime that will be hard for the next president to alter.

The contrast between the two Supreme Court Guantanamo rulings issued yesterday is striking. In the case that is in the public eye, the Court steps up to the plate. But in the low-profile case, the Court doesn’t risk confronting the executive.

Some cases are just too ugly even for the Supreme Court, it appears. Last week it refused to grant review to a claim from Washington State challenging an important principle: the requirement that outside groups disclose their electoral spending....

Today's ruling by the Supreme Court in Boumediene v. Bush delivered a dramatic blow to the President's lawless detention policies and overturned an effort by the previous Congress to eliminate the centuries-old right of habeas corpus. The ruling means that prisoners at the US military base at Guantanámo Bay, who have been held for more than six years without charge, will finally have the opportunity to challenge the accusations against them in a court of law. More broadly, the ruling rejects the premise on which Guantánamo is based: that the President can create a lawless enclave simply by incarcerating people outside the mainland United States.